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Capital budgeting is the analysis that a business undertakes when evaluating new projects and new opportunities for investment. Firms use capital budgeting to determine if these opportunities are worth investing in. However, when a firm uses a capital budgeting model such as net present value, it might come up with several projects, all with a positive net present value.

To compare these projects, or provide additional information about a single project, there are a number of analysis tools available other than net present value. We call these tools capital budgeting ratios. The most popular capital budgeting ratio is the internal rate of return (IRR) and payback period.

For example, the internal rate of return can be used (1) to evaluate whether a project should be accepted or not. We might do this by comparing the internal rate of return of a project to a hurdle rate that the firm's managers agree should be passed in order to accept a project. We might also (2) use IRR to compare potential projects. For example, two mutually exclusive projects might have an identical net present value, but one project might have a higher IRR than another. In this case, we might chose to accept the project with the higher IRR.

Mutually exclusive projects include projects that are considered to perform the same function. If one is chosen, the others are automatically rejected.

Compare the financial statements of the previous and the current year to create a comparative income statement and balance sheet into a new Microsoft Excel document. Use horizontal analysis to calculate the differences in dollars and percentages and explain the possible reasons for the differences. Calculate the following ratios

The chapter opener talked about Diamond Comic Distributor's attempt to reduce the cost of opening a retail comic book store. Suppose that the current cost of opening such a store is $400,000 and that $250,000 of that initial investment is the cost of stocking the shelves with new inventory. Suppose also that the annual operating

Refer to the following Web page, which has an example of another project selection method called the weighted scoring model: http://www.atwebo.com/calculators.htm#Weighted_Scoring_Model%20
Unlike the payback period and the average rate of return, this method considers non-financial criteria as well. Besides the criteria given

This book describes the accounting cycle system used to record financial data in most businesses. To understand the accounting cycle the reader must be familiar with the terminology used in accounting. The book will help students who are struggling w... READ MORE » ... READ MORE »